Wall-Mounted Stud-Supported Folding Seat

ABSTRACT

This wall mounted folding chair design is exceptionally low-profile when the chair is folded against the wall yet it is able to hold an exceptionally large load when open and cantilevered off a single wood or metal wall stud. 
     The chair has no contact with the ground and is only attached to the wall. 
     The design also allows for uniquely easy installation on pre-existing wood or metal stud walls because no modification of the wood stud walls are required and only a minor reinforcement is needed for the metal studs. 
     It can be attached to masonry walls as well. 
     For metal stud walls, a simple reinforcing bracket is required that can be slipped into the metal stud through a hole in the drywall. 
     This design also allows the chair to remain in the folded position without the need for any extra latch or holding mechanisms.

SECTION A. BACKGROUND AND BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Some of the achievements of this design are unique and some are not, but this design is unique as a whole because it captures all of them.

The achievements of this chair design are as follows:

1A. Save Space:

This chair mounts to the wall and flips up, out of way when it is not in use.

This fills the niche of providing short term seating in locations where there is no room to leave a stand-alone seating surface.

This is a typical situation in hallways where people are waiting in queue, entranceways in small homes, condominiums and apartments, dressing rooms, etc.

2A. *UNIQUE—Mountable To Metal and Wood Wall Studs:

Most of the building walls in North America are constructed with wood or metal studs.

One unique design feature of this chair enables it to be mounted to wood studs without the need to modify any internal wall structure. (See FIGS. 3. through 6.)

This design allows a person to simply screw the chair to a drywalled wood-stud wall, as long as the chair is centered, horizontally; on the stud location.

For metal stud walls, I designed a separate stiffening bracket which needs to be slid into into the metal stud through a hole cut in the drywall. (See FIGS. 7. through 12.)

The chair is then mounted to this bracket, though the drywall and stud; using machine screws.

Then the hole in the drywall must be patched.

The chair must be centered horizontally on the metal stud as it is for the wood stud.

This design is unique for it ease in both the wood and metal stud mounting ability.

In addition to wood and metal studs, this chair is also able to be mounted on masonry and any other solid wall structures.

3A. UNIQUE—Strength of Mounting System:

Because this is a wall mounted chair, the strength of the mounting system was just as important as the strength of the chair itself so the another unique aspect of this chair design is that it can support 300 to 400 lbs on a single wood or metal stud, before encountering non-catastrophic damage.

4A. Absence of Legs:

This design has no leg members from which to gain support from the floor.

This allows the chair to be mounted at any elevation desired.

It also protects the floor from the repeated wear of a leg member contacting the floor.

It also provides the added security that a leg cannot be mistakenly kicked out from under the chair.

5A. Ease Of Operation:

The folding mechanism of the chair allows the chair to hold itself in the upright (folded) position without the need for any latch mechanism.

Once the seat panel is lifted up into this position, the weight of the panels, keep the seat panel from falling unexpectedly.

Also, no holding or latch-like mechanism is required when moving the seat panel down into the open (seated) position, or moving the panel up, out of the open (seated) position.

6A. Low Profile:

This design also enables it to be one of the lowest profile wall surface-mounted folding chairs on the market.

In the closed position, the chair protrudes from the wall only 2⅛ inches. This is important since the main purpose of the chair is to save space and remove obstacles.

SECTION B. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1. Mechanism Exploded

-   -   #1—FIXES #3 IN SPACE AND TRANSMITS PART OF THE LOAD TO THE WALL         STUD     -   #2—RIGID MEMBER     -   #3—FIXED PIVOT POINT JOINING #1 AND #2     -   #4—UN-FIXED PIVOT POINT JOINING #2 AND #5     -   #5—RIGID SEATING MEMBER     -   #6—REINFORCING PLATE FOR #5     -   #9—ALLOWS END OF RIGID SEAT MEMBER (#5) TO SLIDE IN A CAPTURED         PATHWAY (#10)     -   #10—CAPTURES #9 INTO A PATHWAY AND TRANSMITS PART OF THE LOAD TO         THE WALL STUD

FIG. 2. Mechanism Side View Schematic

-   -   #2—RIGID MEMBER     -   #3—FIXED PIVOT POINT JOINING #1 AND #2     -   #4—UN-FIXED PIVOT POINT JOINING #2 AND #5     -   #5—RIGID SEATING MEMBER     -   #9—ALLOWS END OF RIGID SEAT MEMBER (#5) TO SLIDE IN A CAPTURED         PATHWAY

FIG. 3. Installation Instructions for Wood Studs, Step 1

FIG. 4. Installation Instructions for Wood Studs, Step 2

FIG. 5. Installation Instructions for Wood Studs, Step 3

FIG. 6. Installation Instructions for Wood Studs, Step 4

FIG. 7. Installation Instructions for Metal Studs, Step 1

FIG. 8. Installation Instructions for Metal Studs, Step 2

FIG. 9. Installation Instructions for Metal Studs, Step 3

FIG. 10. Installation Instructions for Metal Studs, Step 4

FIG. 11. Installation Instructions for Metal Studs, Step 5

FIG. 12. Installation Instructions for Metal Studs, Step 6

SECTION C. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (SEE FIGS. 1. AND 2.)

This chair consists of two moving rigid members (#2 and #5) joined together at one pivot point (#4).

This two-member assembly is attached to the wall at the end of rigid member #2, via pivot point (#3).

This two member assembly is also attached to the wall via a bracket (#10) which captures #9 (at the end of rigid member #5), into a specific motion pathway.

Rigid member #5 is also the seat surface.

C1. Chair In the Closed Position:

-   -   Rigid members #5, and #2 are vertical, adjacent and parallel         with both each other and the wall.     -   Therefore, #9 is located at the lowest elevation in the         controlled pathway built into bracket #10.     -   The mass of the rigid member #5 in this vertical position tends         to maintain this vertical position, therefore eliminating the         tendency for the seat to fall into the “Open” seating position         and therefore eliminating the need to add extra hardware in         order to hold the chair into this vertical, closed position.

C2. Opening the Chair Into the Seating Position:

-   -   With very little force, the end of rigid member #5, at it's         highest elevation; can be tipped away from the wall.     -   As this happens, #9 rises in the pathway in bracket #10, rigid         member #2 rotates away from the wall about pivot point #3, and         the highest end of rigid member #5 falls.     -   Rigid member #5 falls until #9, at it's wall-end; stops at the         highest point of the controlled pathway guided by bracket #10.     -   This pathway in bracket #10, is designed to stop rigid member #9         (the seat surface) at it's horizontal position.     -   Weight can then be placed on the seat at almost any location,         without the seat tending to fold up again.

C3. BRACKET #10, RECESS SLOTS IN RIGID MEMBER #5, AND REINFORCING PLATE #6:

-   -   In order to make this chair fold away and protrude from a wall         as little as possible, it was necessary to overlap the bracket         #10, with the rigid seat member #9.     -   The two slots cut into rigid seat member #9 are for the purpose         of receiving the two flanges of bracket #10, when folding the         chair against the wall.     -   These slots weakened the rigid seat member #9, so it was         necessary to then add reinforcement to the panel.     -   This Plate #6, ties across the slots in rigid seat member #9. 

This patent claims the following:
 1. The ability of a wall mounted folding chair to be screwed directly to a pre-fabricated stud wall, requiring attachment to only one stud and using a reinforcing bracket in the case of metal stud walls. (See Section 2A of Specification).
 2. That no other wall mounted folding chairs shall have the characteristics of all the sections described in Section A of Specification, combined.
 3. That no other wall mounted chair shall utilize all the combined aspects of the mechanism described in Section C of Specification but only including section C3 of Specification if it is used in combination with the rest of the aspects described in Section C of Specification. 